Top Stories category, Page 1590
New ‘smart gym’ in Mt. Lebanon gets people movingVideo
Diane Closser of Upper St. Clair received a postcard in the mail inviting her to try a new gym. After just her second workout, she’s the one sending the message about The Exercise Coach. “I love it,” she says. “The results I have seen are phenomenal. I don’t love working...
Killings of UMWA leader Jock Yablonski, his family shocked Western Pa. 50 years ago
As Joseph Albert “Jock” Yablonski began his 1969 campaign for the presidency of the United Mine Workers of America, he was confident that he had picked the right time to challenge incumbent W.A. “Tony” Boyle, who he believed was not in touch with the miners. “My dad had the power...
50 years later, wounds remain from Yablonski family killings
Half a century after the murders of his parents and sister, the emotional wounds are still raw for Joseph A. “Chip” Yablonski, the last surviving child of Jock Yablonski. Losing his family was traumatic enough. But as he sat at the dining room table of his Bethesda, Md., home this...
Officials confirm no survivors from Hawaii helicopter crash
HONOLULU — There were no survivors of a Hawaii tour helicopter crash that killed three minors and four adults, officials confirmed Saturday. A helicopter that was set to tour the rugged Na Pali Coast, the picturesque and remote northern shoreline of Kauai that was featured in the film “Jurassic Park,”...
East Deer neighbors pitch in to help family of 6 recover from fire that destroyed their home
A community is rallying in support of an East Deer family who lost everything in a Friday morning fire. The Red Cross is assisting Aaron Ciccanti, his fiancee, Andrea Small, and their four children with a temporary place to stay, clothing and food after their home at 405 Freeport Road...
Greensburg barber Ed DeBone hangs up clippers after 47 yearsVideo
After 47 years of cutting the hair of county commissioners, judges, attorneys, priests, mayors, and just plain folks, Ed DeBone has hung up his clippers and razors at his downtown Greensburg barber shop. “It was time,” said DeBone, who closed his 2nd Street Cuts barber shop in Greensburg on Saturday...
Kevin Gorman: Steelers will watch playoff hopes on scoreboard again in season finale
The Pittsburgh Steelers ended last season clinging to their playoff hopes while watching — and rooting for — the Cleveland Browns to beat the Baltimore Ravens on the Heinz Field video board. That the Steelers will end this season doing some scoreboard watching once again is almost as inconceivable as...
Plane crash kills 5, including LSU coach’s daughter-in-law
ATLANTA — A small plane en route to a college football playoff game crashed into a post office parking lot in Louisiana shortly after takeoff Saturday, killing five people, including a well-known sports reporter who was the daughter-in-law of one of the team’s coaches. The two-engine Piper Cheyenne crashed in...
Man arrested in fatal shooting of 90-year-old man in Greenfield
A White Oak man is charged with homicide and robbery for the murder of an elderly man in the Greenfield section of Pittsburgh. City police arrested Anthony Miller, 27, Saturday evening in connection with a shooting earlier that day. Police said the victim, Samuel Rende, 90, of Pittsburgh, was in...
Renovating Vandergrift’s vacant J.C. Penney building takes step forward
The Vandergrift Improvement Program is beginning to make progress on renovating the town’s historic J.C. Penney building at 134 Grant Ave. after years of saving and struggle. The building has sat vacant for more than a decade. The Vandergrift Improvement Project owns the building. VIP recently invited Patton Engineering to...
New report shows gender pay gap won’t close any time soon
Woman shouldn’t expect to be paid the same as men for a while, according to a report from the World Economic Forum. The Global Gender Gap report, published this month, predicted wage equality will come in 257 years, based on how long it has taken for the wage gap to...
Texas sheriff: 2 dead, multiple shot in music video ‘ambush’
HOUSTON — Two people were shot and killed and multiple others were wounded when a group filming a music video was “ambushed” near Houston, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said. After holding a media briefing in which he said two people were killed and four wounded, Gonzalez in a tweet...
Penn Township veteran’s Quilt of Valor was a ‘labor of love’Video
Homer Lyons sat in the chair of his Penn Township living room, the center of attention, as his three children and several grandchildren gathered around him Christmas Eve. Around the shoulders of this World War II veteran was draped a special quilt, a Quilt of Valor presented to him because...
Former Pittsburgh man pleads guilty to his part in multi-state drug-trafficking ring
A former Pittsburgh resident pleaded guilty to his part in narcotics trafficking on Thursday, one of 37 defendants charged as part of a multi-state, large-scale investigation by the Greater Pittsburgh Safe Streets Task Force. According to U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady, John Fedorka, 36, pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy and...
DJ Don Imus, made and betrayed by his mouth, dead at 79
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Disc jockey Don Imus, whose career was made and then undone by his acid tongue during a decades-long rise to radio stardom and an abrupt public plunge after a nationally broadcast racial slur, has died. He was 79. Imus died Friday morning at Baylor Scott and...
Giant Eagle, Dollar General scramble to alert customers under 21 they can’t buy cigarettes, chew, vapes
Western Pennsylvania shoppers soon will spot signs popping up inside Giant Eagle grocery stores and GetGo gas stations alerting everyone to a new federal rule: People under 21 are barred from buying any tobacco products or vapes with liquid nicotine. “As a responsible retailer, Giant Eagle, Inc. takes seriously its...
Pittsburgh Public Schools taxes going up
Pittsburgh Public Schools property taxes will be going up, but the planned increase is half the 2.3% hike initially sought. The new rate of 9.95 mills was approved by a 6-3 vote after two hours of sometimes-heated debate among the nine board members. The board put itself in an unusual...
Pennsylvania Turnpike tolls increasing for 12th straight year
Motorists using the Pennsylvania Turnpike will pay more in tolls starting Jan. 5, marking the 12th straight year the Turnpike Commission has raised prices to help it cover state-mandated payments to PennDOT. The commission said tolls are going up 6% next year, but they’re actually increasing more because the commission...
Fire knocks out Comcast service in at least East Deer, Springdale, New Kensington
The fire that quickly consumed a home in East Deer and damaged two others has also burned through Comcast lines in the area, affecting service that was not restored until after 10 p.m. “This fire burned fiber of ours. We just got access to the site 15 minutes ago,” Comcast...
Uber test track adds to developments planned around Pittsburgh airport
Uber’s proposed test track promising up to 200 jobs in Findlay Township is an example of exponential growth happening with near lightning speed around Pittsburgh International Airport, an official said Friday. Uber Technologies last week closed on a $9.5 million deal with Moon-based Imperial Land Corp. to purchase 600 acres...
Gander Outdoors closes Greensburg location
Less than two years after reopening under the Gander Outdoors name, the Greensburg location has permanently shut its doors. A sign reads: “It is with great regret that we announce the closing of Gander Outdoors of Greensburg, PA. We have enjoyed serving our customers in the community and sincerely apologize...
Attorneys for suspected Tree of Life gunman argue death penalty is unconstitutional
Attorneys for accused synagogue gunman Robert Bowers have made a familiar argument in cases where the defendant faces the federal death penalty. The death penalty is unconstitutional, Bowers’s attorneys stated in a flurry of court filings this week. Bowers is accused of gunning down 11 congregants inside the Tree of...
Pittsburgh planning tight security during New Year’s Eve First NightVideo
Streets in Downtown Pittsburgh will begin closing as early as 10 a.m. Tuesday in preparation for the city’s annual First Night celebration. Public Safety officials plan to have an army of police officers from the city, state, Allegheny County and Port Authority of Allegheny County on the streets and monitoring...
Health department: Air pollution in Mon Valley exceeded federal levels over Christmas
Air pollution in the Mon Valley exceeded federal standards over Christmas, the Allegheny County Health Department reported. Based on preliminary results, the air quality monitor in Liberty showed PM2.5 pollution above the federal threshold of 35 micrograms per cubic meter from Saturday through Wednesday, the health department said. PM2.5 refers...
‘Tough year’ for measles and other infectious diseases in U.S.
NEW YORK — This year, the germs roared back. Measles tripled. Hepatitis A mushroomed. A rare but deadly mosquito-borne disease increased. And that was just the United States. Globally, there was an explosion of measles in many countries, an unrelenting Ebola outbreak in Africa and a surge in dengue fever...
